Snowplow



A. HETZELT March 11, 1941.

SNOWPLOW Filed July 8, 1938 z WTOR W v I mTORNEYS Patented Mar. 11, 1941 V r i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SNOWPLOW Alfred L. Hetzelt, Kenmore, N. Y.

Application July 8, 1938, Serial No. 218,167 9 Claims. (01. 37-42) this invention relates to a snowplow and more enable it to be sold at low cost and which will v particularly to a llghtsnowplow which can be stand up under conditions of severe and 'coneasily attached to the bumper bars of pleasure stunt use without breaking or otherwise getting curs. r out of order.

The removal of snow from driveways by home In the accompanying drawing: owners and also clearing snow from relatively Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the snowplow made small areas, such as around gasoline stations, in accordance with my invention and attached wharves and the like is a laborious job when to the bumper bar of an automobile. done by hand. The present invention is pri- Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the marily directed to this field of snow removal parts oi the snowplow folded up so as to faciliand in general consists of a light but durable tate its transportation and storage. plow which can be easily attached to and de- Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are vertical sections, taken tached from the bumper bar of a, pleasure car, on the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 1. thereby enabling the home owner to quickly Fig. 6 is a Iramgcntary horizontal section, clear his driveway after which he can remove taken on line 6-5, Fig. 5. the suowplow and use his car for its usual The snowplow is attached to the front bumper purposes. ll) of an automobile illustrated by dotted lines One of the principal objects of this invention H. The bumper bar M can be or any usual and is, therelore, to provide such a snowplow which well known form and is shown as having the is very light in weight and at the same time of usual vertical home 12 which are mounted upon strong and durable construction and which can the bumper bar. These horns extend vertically be quickly and easily applied to or detached and their normal function is to insure'engagefrom the front bumper bar of an automobile. ment of the bumper structures in a collision Another object of the invention is to provide even though the bumper bar of one automobile such a plow which can be used to remove the may be higher than the bumper bar of the other snow under all normal conditions or snowfall automobile. In the present instance. these horns and which will leave the driveway or areaway serve to prevent lateral movement of the plow. in a completely cleared condition. The plow forming the subject 01' the present Another object of the invention is to provide invention includes a furrow board I! which is such a plow in which there is no danger or breakshown as being made of wood, although it can 30 ing or injuring any of the parts in the event also be made of other materials. This furrow that an obstacle oi low height, such as a curb board is preferably provided alongits lower edge or broken piece of pavement, is encountered, with a. shoe IS in the form of a metal channel the plow being so designed as to yield and pass which embraces the lower edge of the furrow over such an obstruction. board I5 so asto provide a wearing surface and 35 Another object of the invention is to provide also to prevent the furrow board I 5 from being such a snowplow in which the parts are rigidly splintered in use. The furrow board I! is norbraced and so attached to the bumper of the mally held in a substantially vertical plane and automobile as to be held rigidly thereon, this at an angle to the line of movement as indicated permitting the automobile and plow to be steered in Fig. 1 and for this purpose is suspended from 40 around curves without danger of the snowplo the bumper bar ll of the automobile by a strucsliding sidewise. ture which is preferably constructed as follows: Another object is to provide such a plow in The numerals Ill, 2| represent a. pair of laws which the furrow board of the plow can be set in the form of castings which are C-shaped in at any angle as'the conditions of snowfall or vertical section as best shown in Fig. 3 so as to 45 the width of the driveway may dictate and which provide an opening 22. These laws are applied can be applied to any usual type or width of to the bumper bar and to prevent injury to the bumper bar, the supporting mechanism being finish of the bumper bar these jaws are intermade adjustable for this purpose. nally faced with a soft material, such as rub- Another aim is to provide such a plow in which her, indicated at 23. Each of the laws is formed 50 the various parts fold together when not in use, to provide a forwardly extending boss and to thereby to provide a compact structure which the end of the boss 24 of the clamping jaw III can be readily stored away or shipped. is welded a rod 25 which extends forwardly and Another aim is to provide such a snowpiow downwardly as illustrated in Fig. 3. This rod P which is low in cost or manufacture so as to is telescopically received within a. tube 28, the I l l l rod 26 and tube 26 being connecteclby a bolt 21 which can be received in one of a plurality of holes 28 provided in the tube 26 so that the eifectlve length of the rod 25 and tube 2s can be adjusted. The iorwsrd'end of the tube 26 is flattened to provide a generally horizontal eye a! through which a generally vertical bolt 3b passes. This bolt 36 connects with an eye bolt ell which is secured to the rearwardly extending flange of a vertical angle bar 32, this angle but secured to the rear side of the furrow board iii in any suitable manner.

The boss 8b of the other jaw iii is welded to a tube which extends forwardly and downwordly and at its front end is flattened to form generally elemental eye which is connected by a generally vertical bolt 88 to an eye bolt 3" which, line the eye bolt 55, is secured to the an angle her secured to the side of the furrow hoard iii. The angle bars and id are arranged at opposite sides of the furrow board and the eye bolts ill and are ereferably arranged near the upper ends of the sheet rod ll. The front end of the rod 46 is I flattened and formed to provide an eye which is connected by a bolt 41 with an eye bolt 48 secured to the rearwardly projecting flange of the angle plate 32. A washer 49 is provided at the front end of the rod 46 and between this washer ll and the bracket 45 a helical compression spring I is interposed. It will be seen that the spring I tends to urge the lower part of the furrow board forwardly, this movement being limited by a stop pin which is carried by the rod N and engages the rear side of the bracket ll when the furrow board is in the vertical position shown.

A similar spring arrangement is provided at the left hand of the plow, the tube 36 carrying bracket 55 which slidingly supports a rod the front end oi which is connected to an eye bolt 5? secured to the rearwardiy projecting flange of the angle plate 3%. A compression spring 58 is interposed between the bracket 5d and a washer is and a stop pin limits the forward movement of the rod 56 under the influonce oi the spring 5% so as to hold the furrow board in a substantially vertical position.

In order to provide the necessary rigidity a diagonal brace is provided, this brace being in the form of a tube b o which is flattened at its opposite ends and connected at its front end to an eye bolt ("it carried by the rearwardly projecting flange of the angle plate to and at its rear end to a stud till, a wing nut til being provided to hold the diagonal brace G5 in position on this stud. To further strengthen the structure and to prevent slippage on the bumper bar of the automobile, 9. cross brace it is provided, this cross brace being preferably of tubular form and fiattoned at its opposite ends. One end of this cross brace is secured by a bolt H to the boss 35 of the law 2| while the opposite end is formed to provide a series of holes '52 any of which are fitted over the stud 61. In order to secure a more compact structure when folded the cross brace Ill is also arched as shown.

In order to facilitate the use of the plow the opposite ends of the furrow board l5 are preferably provided with vertically extending holes into which small poles l6 can be inserted. With most modern cars the furrow board i5 is not visible from the driver's seat and these poles aid in locating the position of the furrow board.

In setting up the plow for use the owner of the automobile lifts the plow so as to catch the upper part of the jaws 28, El over the bumper bar it, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. Upon then lowering the structure the bumper bar is caught within these jaws, as illustrated by full lines in Figs. 3 and 4 The owner then brings the jaws 253 and El up against the horns 52 on the bumper bar and then fits the studs 5? into the corresponding hole '52 01 the cross brace 1% so that the jaws and it will be held against the home 52 and the plow prevented from moving sidewise along the bumper bar. The wing nut ('38 is then tightened so as to secure the cross brace it! and the diagonal brace 58 in position. The owner then determines the angle at which the furrow board will be set, this depending primarily upon the width of the driveway to be plowed, and adjusts the telescoping rod along the tube 28 to secure the desired angle of the furrow board L5. This angle is maintained by passing the bolt 21 through either of the holes 28 provided in the tube 28.

The owner is then ready to plow his driveway by starting the car and moving it along with the plow attached. It will be noted that the tubes connecting the furrow board l5 with the bumper bar l0 extend downwardly from the bumper;bar. This insures that the furrow board is held in engagement with the pavement to be plowed and assures the complete removal of all of the snow.

'As the plow is moved along the snow is moved along the furrow board and piled at one side. If an obstacle, such as a break in the pavement, is encountered, the furrow board will yield, its lower edge moving rearwardly against the resistance of the compression springs 50 and 58 until the furrow board clears the obstruction after which it E returned to its normal upright position by these springs, this normal upright position being determined by the stop pins 511 and In order to permit such movement of the various pivotal connections the connecting boltemade evfiiclently loose so that the furrow will freely move to an inclined. position in clearing obstructions. It will also be seen the plow can be used in plowing curves, clamping laws 25 iii being firmly held the horns on the bumper bar for this purpose. En negotiating such curves and also in straight plowing, the guide posts 1'6 provided at the end oi the furrow board materially aid since these guide posts inform the driver of the position of the furrow board and thereby enable him to avoid running into obstructions.

After the driver has finished plowing his driveway he lifts the furrow board until the clamping jaws Zii and 2i are brought to the dotted line position shown in Fig. i, in which position the jaws can be lifted free from the bumper bar. Since the plow has been properly adjusted to fit his particular bumper bar it is unnecessary for him to disturb the setup condition of the plow and he can set it in his garage until the next snowfall. When he again wishes to plow his driveway it is merely necessary for him to pick up the plow, lit the jaws and 2i over the bumper bar and lower it to the ground, this being, of course, a very simple matter and taking very little time.

With the arrival of spring it is desirable to put the plow into more compact form. To do this the owner of the car removes the cross brace ill and the diagonal brace th from the stud ill, whereupon the arms and braces of the plow can be collapsed to the position shown in Fig. 2, the plow in this condition being readily stored away over the summer. Obviously, of course, the collapsing of the plow, as illustrated in Fig. 2, facllitates the packing of the plows for sale.

From the foregoing it will. be seen that the present invention provides a plow which is very light in weight and is at the same time strong and durable and particularly adapted for occasional use by a home owner in that it is quickly fitted to the bumper bar of a pleasure car and equally quickly removed. Further, the plow is efficient in operation, clearing, in a few minutes, a driveway or areaway, the clearing of which by hand shoveling would be an arduous task. Further, by the downward inclination of the supporting members from the bumper bar of the automobile the furrow board is held in clean engagement with the pavement so as to remove all of the snow and at the same time if a low obstruction is encountered the furrow board will fold up toward a horizontal position to clear the obstruction after which it is immediately returned to its normal upright position by the compression spring backing for the lower part of the furrow board.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the form of the invention shown but is to be accorded the full range of equivalents comprehended by the accompanying claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A snowplow of the character described, comprising a furrow board adapted to traverse the surface to be cleared, a compression bar pivotally secured to the rear 01 said furrow board near one end thereof and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, a. telescopic compression bar pivotally' secured tov the rear of said furrow board the opposite end thereof and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, means for adjusting the effective length. of said telescopic compression bar, a diagonal brace connected at its rear end to the rear end of one of said cornuression bars connected adjacent the front of the other said compression bars, quiet: chable means for connecting the rear ends said compression bars with the bumper bar of automobile, transverse bar arranged parallel with. said bumper bar, means connecting one end of said transverse bar with the rear end of one r with the rear end of the other oi said com pression bars.

it snowplow of the character described, com prising a furrow board adapted to traverse the surface to be cleared, a compression bar pivc'tally secured to the rear of said furrow board near one end thereof and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, a telescopic compression bar pivotally secured to the rear of said furrow board near the opposite end thereof and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, means for adjusting the effective length of said telescopic compression bar, a diagonal brace connected at its rear end to the rear end of one of said compression bars and connected adjacent the front end of the other of said compression bars, quick detachable means for connecting the rear ends of said compression bars with the bumper bar of an automobile, a transverse bar arranged parallel with said bumper bar, means connecting one end of said transverse bar with the rear end of one of said compression bars and means adjustably connecting the opposite end of said transverse bar with the rear end of the other of said compression bars, said adjustable connection comprising a plurality of holes provided at the end of said transverse bar and a stud provided at the rear end of the corresponding compression bar and arranged to fit into any of said holes.

3. A snowplow of the character described, comprising a furrow board adapted to traverse the surface to be cleared, a structure in rear of said furrow boardand connected therewith and means for removably connecting said structure with the bumper bar of an automobile comprising a pair of rearwardly opening C-shaped jaws secured to said structure, the upper part of each of said C-shaped jaws being adapted to be fitted over the bumper bar upon lifting said furrow board and structure to an inclined position and the lower part of each of said C-shaped jaws being adapted to pass under the bumper bar upon lowering said furrow board and structure to the ground.

4. A snowplow of the character described, comprising a furrow board adapted to traverse the surface to be cleared, a pair of bars extending upwardly and rearwardly from said furrow board and secured in horizontally spaced relation thereto, means for holding the rear ends of said bars in spaced relation and quick detachable means for connecting the rear ends of said bars with the bumper bar of an automobile, comprising a rearwardly opening G-shaped jaw secured to the rear end of each of said bars, said bumper bar being adapted to be fitted into saidjaws upon lifting said furrow board to an inclined position, fitting the upper part of said jaws over said bumper bar and then permitting the furrow board to drop to the surface to be cleared.

ii. A snowplow of the character described, comprising a furrow board adapted to traverse the surface to be cleared, a pair of vertically extending flanges projecting rearwardly from said furrow board and each located near one end of the furrow board, a compression bar pivotally se cured to one of said flanges and extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, a telescopic compression. bar pivotally secured to the other of said flangesand extending upwardly and rear wardly therefro-iri, a diagonal brace removably secured to the rear end of one of said compliessiori bars, means connecting the front end of said diagonal brace with the flange connected to the other of said compression bars, a transverse bar connected at one end to the rear of one of said compression bars and adiustably connected with the rear end of the other of said compression bars, spring means carried at the front end of each of said compression bars and connected to the lower part of the corresponding flange and urging said furrow board forwardly into a generally vertical position and quick detachable means for connecting the rear end of each of said compression bars with the bumper bar of an automobile comprising a rearwardly opening till vC-shaped clamp secured to each of said compression bars and adapted to be fitted over said bumper bar, said compression bars, diagonal brace and transverse bar being adapted to be folded into substantially parallel relation to said furrow board.

6. A light weight snowplow of the character described adapted to be attached to pleasure cars, comprising a single furrow board extending the full width of the car and arranged to traverse the surface to be cleared, a pair of vertically extending flanges projecting directly rearwardly from said furrow board and each located near one end of the furrow board, a bar pivotally secured to each flange and extending directly upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, quick detachable means for connecting the rear ends of said bars exclusively with the front bumper bar of said car, the pivotal connection between said bars and flanges being below the plane of said bumper bar and spring means mounted on the front end of each of said rearwardly extending bars and connected to the lower part of said corresponding flange to urge said furrow board into an upright position.

7. A light weight snowplow of the character described adapted to be attached to pleasure cars, comprising a single furrow board extending the full width of the car and arranged to traverse the surface to be cleared, a pair of bars extending directly upwardly and rearwardly from said furrow board, quick detachable means for connecting the rear ends of said bars exclusively with the bumper bar of s d car, pivot means having vertical axes for sec ring the front'ends of said pair of bars to the rear of said furrow board, and a single diagonal brace pivotally connected by a pivot having a vertical axis to the rear end of one of said pair of bars and at its front end to the rear of said furrow board and adjacent the front end of the other of said pair of bars, said single diagonal brace constituting the sole bracing means for resisting movement of said furrow board laterally of the car, said pivotal connections of said compression bars and diagonal brace permitting said compression bars and brace to be folded horizontally into substantial parallel relation with said furrow board.

8. A light weight snow plow of the character described adapted to be attached to pleasure cars, comprising a single furrow board extending the full width of the car and arranged to traverse the surface to be cleared, a pair of bars extending directly upwardly and rearwardly from said furrow board, quick detachable means for connecting the rear end of said bars exclusively with the bumper bar of said car and pivot means for securing the front ends of said pair of bars to the rear of said furrow board and a single diagonal brace connected at its rear end to the rear end of one of said pair of bars and pivotally connected at its opposite end to the furrow board adjacent the pivotal connection thereto of the other of said pair of bars, said single diagonal brace constituting the sole bracing means for resisting movement of said furrow board laterally of the car.

9. A light weight snowplow of the character described adapted to be attached to pleasure cars, comprising a single furrow board extending the full width of the car and arranged to traverse the surface to be cleared, a compression bar pivotally secured to the rear of said furrow board near one end thereof and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, a telescopic compression bar, quick detachable means for connecting the rear ends of said compression bars exclusively with the bumper bar of said car, and a single diagonal brace connected at its rear end to the rear end of said telescopic bar and at its front end pivotally to the rear of said furrow board ad jacent the pivotal connection thereto of the other of said compression bars, said single diagonal brace constituting the sole bracing means for resisting movement of said furrow board laterally of the car.

ALFRED L. HETZELT. 

